أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم، فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم.

All praise is due to Allah, the Exalted in Might. He instructed us to hold to His firm rope. I bear witness there is no deity save Allah Alone, having no associates. He blessed us with the Union and has made it a cause for bringing people together in harmony and increasing prosperity. He has united the believers’ hearts around Him and strengthened their unity. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions, and all those who live like them till the Day of Resurrection.

As to what follows, I call upon myself first and all of you to be ever conscious and do construct our lives in accordance to what Allah, the Almighty, has ordered us as He says, “And indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so fear Me.” (Al Muaminun: 52).

O Believers,

Both the holy Quran and Hadith have urged us to hold on steadfastly to the rope of Allah, the Almighty, and His most trustworthy handhold. Our Prophet Muhammad pbuh stressed the need for unity and harmony, and warned against disagreement and lack of disobedience. He said, “So observe Salat in congregation, for the wolf eats up a solitary sheep that stays far from the flock.”

Islam calls for unity because it is the basis for happiness and progress. Hardly can any nation achieve progress or enjoy welfare unless its people come together and join their efforts in the best interest of society. So the Union is by its nature a great blessing from Allah, Who says, “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favour of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favour, brothers.” (Al Imran: 103).

Dear Muslims,

As Muslims we need always to ponder Allah’s blessings on us and duly thank Him for that. One of His prodigious bounties is love, for the latter leads to joining hearts together and calls for doing good. About its merits on His Apostle Muhammad pbuh and Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, Allah, the Almighty, says, “It is He who supported you with His help and with the believers. And brought together their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have brought their hearts together; but Allah brought them together. Indeed, He is Exalted in Might and Wise.” (Al Anfal: 62-63).

Allah has blessed our beloved country, the UAE, with wise leaders, who are keen to cater for our interests and achieve our happiness. They shoulder the responsibility of building the nation, raising its status and safeguarding its integrity. Thus providing prosperity and stability and promoting development and progress come at the top of their interests. And in this pursuit, Allah, the most Generous, has endowed them with noble values and wisdom.

Guided by the lofty teachings of Islam, our prudent leaders have succeeded in their mission and brought great benefits to people. As a result, both the leadership and people from all walks of life have come to be united by bonds of love, mutual respect and loyalty. In this regard, our Prophet Muhammad pbuh said, “the best of your rulers are those whom you love and who love you, who invoke God’s blessings upon you and you invoke His blessings upon them.” This means you shall pray for them and they shall pray for you.

These qualities and aptitude, which Allah, the most Exalted, has conferred upon our rulers, have been convincing to tribes to support the wise leadership. The history still relates proudly the contribution of the founding fathers in the establishment of this blessed Union.

Dear Servants of Allah,

Indeed the Union has yielded impressive results. Since the foundation of the UAE, many public facilities have been built, including hospitals, health centres, schools, universities, mosques, roads and holy Quran memorisation centres. Education has developed. In this process, human resources development has always come first. Thus, women have been empowered and means of welfare provided, reaching every corner of the country.

In a remarkable example of synergy, members of the community and their leadership are strongly united as one family. They share their joys, care and mutually respect each other.

By the grace of Allah, our country have enjoyed abundant blessings as shown in international statistics. It stands neck and neck with advanced countries. Moreover, it has become a major destination that attracts people from all around the world for work opportunities and a better life. Currently, there are more than 200 nationalities living here cherishing a decent livelihood. And when the situation calls for charity elsewhere, UAE would respond generously and bring humanitarian relief to the needy and the afflicted pursuant to the Hadith saying, “the dearest among people to Allah Almighty is the most beneficial to people.”

O Believers,

Please know that these extraordinary accomplishments could not come true without the perseverance and great efforts by our rulers. So we need to maintain the cohesion with our leaders, support them, and hold on to the beautiful values introduced by the founding fathers. We need also to empower ourselves with beneficial knowledge, engage in fruitful work and preserve moderate Islamic culture. At the same time, we need to keep away from all forms of disunity or factionalism. Indeed Islam has warned us against any matter that may lead to differences and conflict.

With this in mind we supplicate to Allah to bless our leadership. May Allah also help us to obey Him and those He has ordained upon us to obey pursuant to His instructions: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” (Annisaa: 59).

May Allah bless you and me with the ability to implement the Holy Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger Muhammad pbuh. I say my words and pray to Allah, the Almighty, to grant us forgiveness. Supplicate to Allah for forgiveness for He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.